Bristol man found guilty in sexual assault of 14-year-old

LAUREN SIEVERT

Published
12:00 am EDT, Tuesday, October 2, 2012

MIDDLETOWN >> The Bristol man facing a possible 280 years in jail yelled obscenities at the state's attorney in court on Tuesday.

Henry Collin, 42, of 40 Broad Place, was found guilty by an all-woman jury of seven counts of second-degree sexual assault and seven counts of risk of injury to a child and was found not guilty of one count each of second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury. Collin had been charged with eight counts of second-degree sexual assault and eight counts of risk of injury to a minor in connection with incidents involving a 14-year-old girl on his boat in Chester in mid-2010.

When the jury forewoman was reading the verdict, Collin could be seen shaking his head. Judge Christine Keller accepted the verdict and continued the case until Dec. 11 for a pre-sentencing report to be prepared. According to Senior Assistant State Attorney Russell Zentner, Collin faces an exposure of 280 years in jail if given the maximum terms for each charge consecutively. Zentner also said the mandatory minimum time to serve is nine months.

Zentner then asked for Collin's bonds to be raised. He had previously posted $100,000 bail for one case and was released on a $50,000 bail for the other case. When Zentner asked for the bond to be raised by $500,000, Collin looked at Zentner and called him multiple obscenities in front of the judge. Keller raised his bail to a total of $250,000 for the cases on which he was found guilty. His bail in the case where he was acquitted was released.

Collin was also ordered to surrender any guns he may have and his pistol permit was ordered revoked. A medication list was transported with Collin to the prison, due to numerous health problems including diabetes and a thyroid issue. Collin was also placed on protective custody status, as there is a protective order for the victim in the case.

The trial began almost two weeks ago in Middlesex Superior Court in Middletown, and jurors rendered their verdict at 3:45 Tuesday afternoon after about four hours of deliberation.

Zentner said after the verdict that he believes the jury did its due diligence. Defense attorney William Paetzold declined comment. Collin's mother and father were present for the verdict.

On Monday, the state and defense gave their closing arguments.

During the state's closing arguments Zentner focused on the parts of Collin's statement to the police in which he allegedly confessed to everything. In the statement, which was evidence in the case, Collin confesses to having sex, both genital and oral, with the victim on his boat. Collin allegedly used a home-made device to obtain an erection; his past medical history caused erectile dysfunction, and the inability to produce sperm. Collin would use a rubber "o-ring" attached to a string and use the theory of hydraulics to achieve an erection, then have sex with the victim. The victim reportedly told police about the device and Collin voluntarily turned over the device to a police officer at the state police barracks in Westbrook. Zentner called the "o-ring" the most damaging piece of evidence in the case because it showed the victim had intimate knowledge of Collin and what he used to have sex.

Paetzold, who represented Collin, focused on the reliability of the victim and the police officers in his closing arguments. Paetzold told the jury there are two questions to ask: Is the victim's claim true and is Collin's statement true? Paetzold is asserting that Collin's confession to the police was a "false confession." The defense said the victim made the false claim and there was never any sexual contact with the victim. Paetzold said the victim had a crush on Collin and liked all the attention she was receiving from Collin. Paetzold said the victim is trying to embellish the story and there are inaccuracies in her statement and what friends testified about and what police have written as statements.

In rebuttal, Zentner pointed out that at the time, the victim was 14 years old and may not remember the exact months when specific events happened, especially now over two years after the incidents. Zentner said the defense cannot "get around" the "o-ring" device because it shows the victim's level of knowledge regarding having sex with Collin. Zentner said the victim has no motive for taking the case on this long if she was making up the claims about having sex.

At the end of the day, the jury chose a forewoman and was given a specific set of instructions from Judge Christine Keller about the facts of the case. The jury was excused and started deliberating at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

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